Page 1466 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 6 April 2011
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and operational practices at Bimberi and there has been much criticism of this government in relation to its handling. The criticisms have heightened in recent months. Because people who work at Bimberi have been utterly frustrated by a government that is incapable of listening to them and incapable of taking action, I think it is time that this information is placed on the table.
My concern, as I have said, has been heightened because some of those people have been driven by frustration to take the drastic step of making their concerns public. The former art teacher, in the Canberra Times last week and on radio, talked about how procedures were not notified and that people were acting in ignorance of procedures. As I have said before, the Canberra Liberals have been approached by a range of frustrated Bimberi workers who found it necessary to bring their concerns directly to the attention of members of the Legislative Assembly. And it is not just to me. I happen to be the person who has listened to them, as have my colleagues. But most of the concerns that have been brought to me have previously been brought to the attention of the minister. I have seen the correspondence; I have seen the letters that have been sent to her which have been ignored until they were brought to light in public and then the minister showed some interest.
In addition, we have seen the rather shambolic—which seems to be the word of the day—treatment of text messages and the provision of information to the minister’s senior staff and the way that the senior staff have not responded to high-level, important information that was brought to their attention. The minister said yesterday in question time that she was looking at procedures about how her office might deal with text messages, but it does not actually address the issue of what she has done to address the issues of concern that have been brought to the attention of herself and her staff through text messages.
The minister and Mr Barr, who are both referred to in this motion, have very onerous responsibilities in many areas of the administration of their departments, but none more so than in relation to the administration of services at Bimberi Youth Justice Centre. As we have said before, and I think there is general agreement on it in this place, the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre is a place where some of our most vulnerable young people spend some time, and it is incumbent upon us to ensure that they are safe, that they live in an environment that can help them get back on track and so that their educational outcomes can be enhanced.
That there is a belief that there has been a failure to do so that has resulted in the current spate of inquiries is obvious by that spate of inquiries. It is incumbent upon these ministers, who have primary responsibility for the care and education of those young people, to provide as much information as possible for the information of members. (Time expired.)
MS BURCH (Brindabella—Minister for Disability, Housing and Community Services, Minister for Children and Young People, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Women) (4.26): I think I will start by stating the obvious, that the government will not be supporting Mrs Dunne’s motion. We will be supporting the proposed amendment put forward by the Greens, which affirms the government’s commitment to transparency in providing documents and other
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